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J.. S. BALDWIN. HOT AIR ENGIlW.'`

No. 292,400. Patented Jn. 22, 1884.4

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,UNITED STATES PrrrEiwr OFFICE. f

JAMES s. BAEDWiN, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASsiGNoE oE TWENTY- ONE IVENTYFIFTHS TO SAMUEL A. FARRAND i BENJAMIN XV. BRADFORD, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

HOT-AIR ENGINE.

lSPE(JIliIClJIEION forming part of Letters Patent No. 292,400, dated January22, 1884.

` Application med June 2,1883. (No modell) .citizen of the United States of America, ref

. gitudinal section.

siding at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New. Jersey, have invented certain I, new and useful Improvements in Hot-Air Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or gures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Fi gurer l is a side elevation with partial lon- Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the regenerator, taken on line x of Fig. l; and Fig. 3, cross-section of one of the vertical chambers, taken on line g/vg/ of Fig. 1.

-My invention relatesvto an improved apparatus for heating and cooling air or gas for the production `of power, and it consists of certain novel construction and arrangement of parts, whereby I am enabled to control the temperature and tension or pressure of a mass of air or gas land readily apply the power obtained from the same to practical uses. It re# lates especially to that class of air orn gas enginesin which the same body of air or gas is used over and over.-

The construction of the various parts Iwill vnow proceed to describe.

, Referring to the drawings, similar letters of reference indicate like parts. v

A is-a cylinder, made of sheet metal B B two` smaller extensions or prolongations at each end -of the cylinder A, said cylinder A and extensions B B having a common axis.

D D are stuffing-boxes at the outer ends of the extensions B B. Through'these stufngboxes DD passes the piston-rod E. Mounted upon the piston-rod is the sliding collar F, which carries the plate F.

G is a bellows, one end of which is secured to and closedby the plate F', the other and open end being attached to the ring H, which isfastened to the inside of the cylinder A. Said bellows G is made of any suitable material which iswater tight and at the same apoor conductor of heat. a a are disks or pistonheads which alternately enter the extensions B B as the piston-V rod E works back and forward. l

b b are pipes which connect the boxes I I',

in which are placed the heating and cooling 5 coils z' i', with the extensions B B.

c c are pipes which connect the boxes I I with the cylinder A.

E is a cross-head on one end of the pistonrod, moving in guides and connected with a crank or other suitable machinery for operating the same, and so arranged as to receive a regular reciprocating motion and thus actuate the bellows G as the piston-rod moves backV and forward. f

L L', are vertical chambers secured to th top of thecylinder A and opening into the same by openings nearly their full size. Said chambers L L are iilled with vertical iron plates l, supported by rods Z.

VM is a regenerator connecting the two chambers L Ll and opening into each by the pipes 111.

N are neat-valves suspended 'by rods .11, which valves close the'pipes m. The regenerator M is iilled with horizontal metal plates, closely spaced, as shown in Fig. 2.

d is a pipe or inlet, provided'with a suitable OF SAME PLAGE, ANDA stop-valve, and through which any liquid or v other substance canV be introduced into n the chamber L. Y

e is a safety-valve branching off from the pipe d. f is a similar pipe, for introducing liquid J into the chamber L; and f lvis a pipe or inlet cylinder A with?, y

O is a plunger working in the cylinder O.

Said plunger Ois connected with any suitable xi device for transmitting power and thus oper- 1, ate any desired machinery. It is especially,

adaptedfor working apunch, shears, or. similar machine. The piston-rod E and bellows,l

Gbeing at mid-stroke, the apparatus is charged through the openings d and f with any suit-"3.l

able liquid, preferably diluted gl ycerine or slightly alkaline water, until the cylinder A is completely filled and the chambers L L are half full.l The water-valves are then closed, and air or gas is forced in through the opening f until the desired pressure or tension is attained. The valve is closed and the cap is then screwed on said opening f and the whole apparatus made perfectly air and water tight. Hot water or steam, preferably the exhauststeam of an engine, is caused to pass through the heating-coils fi, and cold water through the cooling-coils i. The disksor piston-heads a a', alternately entering the extensions B B at each stroke of the piston-rod, cause the contents of the latter to pass through the hot and cold coils, and thus maintain the liquid on each side of the plate F at the desired high or low temperature. The piston-rod E being operatedand thus actuating` the bellows, the liquid will alternately rise and fall in the chambers, and consequently there will be a transfer of the entire gaseous contents from one chamber to the other at each stroke of the piston-rod. The fioat-valves N will prevent the passage of any liquid into the regenerator. The metal plates which ill the vertical chambers L L will thus be immersed at each stroke ofthe piston-rod in hot or cold water, and are thus brought to and maintained at the temperature of the liquid in which they are i111- mersed, thus enabling the air or gas to advantageously expand and contract, as required, for the purpose set forth. The large moist surface of the hot-air chamber would tend to generate and charge the warm air with vapor, which, condensing in the regenerator, would cause trouble and a loss of heat. To obviate this, I use a thick stratum of melted paraiiine, which, floating on the hot water, completely iilms over the sheets of iron and prevents vapor from rising into the regenerator. Then desired, astratum of parafne-oil can be used. A hydrocarbon gas may in some cases be advantageously used in place of air.

To operate my apparatus, motion is imparted to the piston-rod E. The bellows is thus actuated, and drawing the plate F toward the extension B', the cold liquid is forced up into the chamber L and the airor gas passes through the regenerator into the chamber L, where coming Y in contact with the hot metal plates, it exc-f the piston.

pands, and, operating aga-inst the surface of the water in the cylinderA, it drives the saine down through the pipe g into the cylinder O, and forces the plunger O' out to position shown ilr dotted lines. On the backstroke of the piston the water is forced up into the chamber L, again heating the plates in that chamber, and the airor gas passes through-the regenerator into the chamber L', and, comin g in contact with the cold plates, contracts; and this operation of the alternate expansion and contraction of the air or gas is repeated at each stroke I am thus enabled to utilize the entire power developed by the expansion of the air or gas as it comes in contact with the hot surface in the chamber L.

As the power required to operate the pistonrod'E varies at different portions of the stroke, I use au apparatus which I will now describe to regulate or equalize the same.

I are springs secured to the'frame-work of the cylinder A. p are rods connecting said springs with-a cross-head E2 on one end of the pistonrod E,by means of which springs a resistance is offered when the weight of the liquid aids the action ofthe bellows, and alike assistance is rendered when the weight of the liquid resists the actionof the bellows and piston. The centers and positions of the springs at different portions of the stroke are shown by dotted lines.

I do not confine myself to this specific form of springs for the equalizing apparatus. Any equivalent for the same may be used; or, if desired, a weight, to be raised and lowered, can be substituted for the springs.

If desired, the entire apparatus may be duplicated, and the plunger in the cylinder O Y may enter at its other end into a similar cylinder connected with the duplicate apparatus, and thus be driven back and forward, the air or gas in one apparatus contracting while it expands in the other; or the plunger O may be connected with suitable springs orweights for forcing it back into the cylinder O, when the tension of the expanding air or gas is reduced or removed, and thus drive the water from the cylinder O back into the cylinder A.-

To enable the bellows to accommodate itself to the inequalities of volume resulting from the overflow of the liquid from the cylinder A to the cylinder O, and the return of said liquid from the cylinder 0 to cylinder A, the sliding collar F and plate F arc maintained in their approximate position by the sliding collar o' and spiral springs i" and T2, the spring r2 abutting against the fixed collar r. If desired, a similar device could be placed outside of the cylinder A, near the cross-head E.

By the use of this apparatus, a small amount of power communicated to the piston E is greatly multiplied when transmitted through the plunger O'.

My apparatus is also adapted to act as an accumulator of power by the use of additions, which will be made the subject of a subscquent application.

Having thus fully described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent--v l. The cylinder for holding a fluid, and means for heating the fluid in one end of the cylinder and cooling it iu the other, in combination with the vertical chambers, connected by the regenerator, and a bellows separating the hot from the cold fluid, and means for operating said bellows, whereby the iiuid can be alternately raised and lowered in the vertical chambers, and the air or gas caused to rise `or fall in tension as it comes in contact witha hot or cold surface, substantially as shown and described.

2. The cylinder A, for holding a liquid, provided with means for heating the liquid in one end of the cylinder and cooling it in the other, in combination with the vertical chambers L L', filled with metal plates Z, and connected by the regenerator, said cylinder A having the bellows G, and means for operating the same, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

3. The vertical chambers L L', having the plates Z, and connected by the regenerator M, iilled with metal plates, and having the floatvalves N, in combination with the cylinder A, having the bellows G, and means for operating the same, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

4. The vertical chambers L L', opening into the cylinder A, said cylinder A having the extensions B B' and hot and cold coil boxes I I', connected with the extensions and cylinder, in combination with the piston-rod E, carrying the disks or piston-heads a a', and the plate F', attached to the bellows, and means for operating said piston-rod, substantially as shown and described.

5. The cylinder A and piston-rod E, carrying the plate F', and means for operating said piston-rod, in combination with the springs P P and rods p, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

6. The-cylinder A and piston-rod E, carrying the sliding collar F and plate F', and disks a a', in combination with the sliding collar o, springs 1^' r2, and stationary collar r3, subst-antially as and for the purpose shown and described.

7. The vertical chambers L L', connected by the regenerator M, the cylinder A, having extensions B B', bellows G, piston-rod E, carrying the plate F and disks a a', and means for operating the piston-rod, in combination with the cylinder O, having the plunger O', and

means for forcing the plunger back when the pressure of the air or gas is reduced or removed, substantiallyas and for the purpose sh own and described. Y

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in' presence of two witnesses.l

JAMES VS. BALDWIN.

lVitnesses: y

OBA VVooDRUiPF, J. C. DUNN.' 

